Adam Howard was named NDC’s first head coach in January 2009. The 1997 Wilmington College graduate inked the first Falcon recruits that spring and led Notre Dame into a developmental season in fall 2009.
After Notre Dame went 2-9 in its inaugural season, Howard led the Falcons to near across-the-board in every statistical category in 2011, a season that saw the Blue & White post a 5-6 mark.
Howard went into the 2012 season having shifted his coaching responsibilities from the defensive to the offensive side of the ball. In 2012 he began coaching the Quarterbacks.
Howard came to College Road from across town, where he served as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator for Baldwin-Wallace. Howard was the Yellow Jackets’ defensive coordinator the last six seasons (2003-08). He was the defensive backs coach for the 2002 season. At B-W, the former Wilmington College player (1993-97) developed one of the finest defensive corps in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Howard was named the OAC’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003, and his Yellow Jacket defenses consistently performed at a high level. B-W ranked in the OAC’s top-four in fewest points allowed in five of his six seasons as defensive coordinator. In 2004, the Yellow Jackets ranked second in the league and 10th in the nation, yielding just 13.5 points per game. Howard’s B-W defenses allowed fewer than 20.0 points per game in five of his six seasons in Berea.
In his last season at BWC (2008), the Yellow Jackets yielded 24.3 points per game (sixth, OAC) and 328.5 total yards (fifth) per contest.
The Falcons’ first gridiron leader has a football background that is all-Ohio. He originally hails from New Carlisle, Ohio, and was a standout player at Springfield Northwestern High School.
Prior to heading to B-W, Howard was the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Wilmington College from 1999-2002. Before that, he served as the defensive ends coach at the University of Dayton in 1998-1999.
Howard is the proud father Levi, who was born in 2009, and Madilyn, who was born in 2014. They reside in Strongsville, Ohio.
